This report from Dutch NGO the Changing Markets Foundation argues that a lack of attention to reducing methane emissions puts the world at greater risk of reaching climate tipping points. It analyses the climate commitments of the 18 countries with the biggest meat and dairy industries, as well as the largest meat and dairy companies worldwide, and finds that neither governments nor corporations are taking sufficient action on cutting methane emissions.

US-based alternative protein startup Eat Just is planning to build a large-scale cultured meat plant in Qatar, with the support of the Qatar Free Zones Authority and investment from a state-backed venture capital firm. Eat Just plans to export to neighbouring regions as well as western Europe. If Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health grants approval for Eat Just’s cell-based chicken (produced by its subsidiary Good Meat), the country will become the second to permit the sale of cultured meat, following Singapore (see our summary Cultured meat approved for sale for the first time).

This investigation by international media outlet DeSmog examines how ten large meat industry organisations are portraying their activities as climate-friendly through their public messaging. It identifies which narratives about meat and climate are used by each of the ten organisations.

This paper compares detailed nutritional properties of burgers made from a plant-based meat replacement (based on soy) and from grass-fed ground beef. It concludes that, although the macronutrient contents (e.g. protein, fat) of both options are similar enough that consumers reading nutrition labels may view them as nutritionally interchangeable, there are significant differences between the two in the levels of 171 out of 190 metabolites studied. 

In this paper, TABLE member Philippa Simmonds analyses the debate around meat taxes in the UK, using media analysis and interviews with key stakeholders, and assesses how perspectives in the debate align with various political ideologies. 

This study explores why people choose to either see or avoid carbon emissions information when choosing a protein source, and the influence that seeing this information has on product choices. The study is based on an online survey where people were asked to make a hypothetical choice between a range of protein sources. 

This paper uses interviews with senior representatives of the UK food retail sector to explore how retailers view sustainable diets and the extent to which “less and better” meat and dairy plays a part in these understandings. It finds that retailers have diverse understandings of sustainable diets, and that these seldom include “less and better” meat and dairy. While retailers are implementing strategies to improve the sustainability of their meat and dairy supply chains, none of the retailers studied are actively trying to reduce the amount of meat they sell. 

This paper examines the climate commitments of the world’s 35 largest meat and dairy companies - summarised in this table - which together produce around 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions from animal agriculture. It also compares the companies’ projected future emissions to the Paris climate commitments of the country in which each company is headquartered (while noting that the Paris Agreement does not view climate responsibility in these terms), and traces the political influence of the 10 largest US meat and dairy companies.

This paper finds that suddenly banning wild meat from diets and markets, for example in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, could put some countries at risk of food insecurity, require an extra 124,000km2 of land to rear livestock as a replacement, and drive an additional 267 species towards extinction.